About Us

Singers of Summerville is an auditioned community chorus based in beautiful Summerville, South Carolina, made up of thirty to fifty musicians from the greater Summerville area.

About our group

Singers of Summerville presents 2-3 performances per year and is available for community events or special performances. Our members, ages 18-80, are a diverse group – teachers, musicians, medical professionals, attorneys, business leaders, retirees, and students – all sharing a passion for choral singing. 

Our primary sources of financial support  come from concert ticket sales, member dues, patrons, donors, sponsors, and grants.

Entrance into the choir is obtained through competitive audition.  Our rehearsals are held on Monday evenings from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. 

Our Singers – see our members

Emily Bohl,
Artistic Director &
Conductor, 2025

Emily Bohl

Emily Reeves Bohl is a choral conductor and music educator whose experience spans from early childhood to secondary, university, and community settings. She currently serves as Director of Choral Activities at Berkeley Center for the Arts at Goose Creek High School, Assistant Director of The King’s Counterpoint, and Artistic Director and Conductor of the Singers of Summerville. Choirs under her direction consistently receive superior ratings in adjudicated settings and have recently performed at the annual conferences of both the South Carolina American Choral Directors Association (2023, 2025) and the South Carolina Music Educators Association (2024). In October 2024, Emily was awarded the Emerging Scholar Award by SC ACDA for outstanding contributions to choral music in South Carolina in under ten years of service. She was additionally selected as the recipient of the SCMEA Outstanding Young Music Educator Award in February 2025.

​In addition to her duties as Director of Choral Activities, Emily has previously served as Music Director for theatrical productions at BCA; and has enjoyed conducting performances of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, The Wizard of Oz, Little Women, and Mary Poppins. She serves as the Fine Arts Department Chair, Tri-M Music Honor Society Chapter Advisor, Black Student Union Co-Sponsor, and on the School Leadership Team. Emily was a Finalist for Goose Creek High School Teacher of the Year in 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026. ​Emily previously served as Adjunct Professor in the Master of Arts in Teaching program at College of Charleston, where she taught courses in Conducting, Vocal Pedagogy, Secondary Methods, and Choral Literature. She additionally directed the Concert Choir, College of Charleston’s flagship choral ensemble, for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Outside the classroom and away from the podium, Emily maintains an active performing schedule. She can be heard regularly as staff soprano at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, and with the choirs of The King’s Counterpoint. As a chorister, she has sung with academic and professional ensembles across the United States and abroad in England, Spain, France, and Hungary. Previous engagements include the soprano solos in Spatzenmesse and Krönungsmesse (Mozart), Requiem (Fauré), Gloria (Vivaldi), Messiah (Handel), Gloria (Rutter), Magnificat (Bach), and the Oklahoma premiere of Mass no. 1 (Tyberg) with Windsong Chamber Choir.  Professional affiliations include the National Association for Music Education where she serves on the Choral Division All-State and Choral Performance Assessment Committees, the International Kodály Society, and the South Carolina chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, where she serves on the Repertoire & Resources and Conference Performing Choirs Committees. 

Emily has served as a clinician and guest conductor in varied settings, and is also active as a presenter, especially in the area of the Kodály concept and its applications to Choral Pedagogy. She received the Bacon-Erdei Scholarship for study at the Kodály Institute in Kecskemét, Hungary in 2022, and was selected as a Conducting Fellow for the Atlanta Summer Conducting Institute in 2024. Emily completed further study at the Kodály Institute in 2025, when she was additionally awarded scholarship to attend the 50th anniversary of the International Kodály Symposium, also taking place in Kecskemét, Hungary. Emily holds the Master of Music in Kodály Pedagogy from Holy Names University, the Master of Education in Administration and Curriculum Supervision from The University of Oklahoma, and the Bachelor of Arts in Choral Music Education from Charleston Southern University.

Austin Bates,
Collaborative Pianist, Fall 2025

Austin Bates, Collaborative Pianist, is in his third year as director of choral activities at Alston Middle School in Summerville, SC. He also serves as the head choir director at Tri-City Baptist Church in Moncks Corner and teaches piano and vocal lessons locally. Austin is a 2022 graduate of Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC. He and his wife, Caroline, live with their two dogs in Goose Creek, SC.

Austin’s experience as a collaborative pianist in the community includes playing for school choral concerts within Dorchester School District Two, playing for Summerville High School’s musical productions, and serving as the pianist for the DD2 Middle School Honor Choir. While in college, his job at the university was serving for four years as a collaborative pianist for vocalists, instrumentalists, and many different ensembles. Austin loves being a part of the Summerville artistic community and is so excited to work alongside the Singers of Summerville.

Ryan Pagels,
Past Artistic Director
& Conductor, 2024

Ryan Pagels is a highly sought after conductor, composer, and pianist, and is currently serving as the Director of Music at the Unitarian Church of Charleston. Before moving to Charleston, Ryan was the Director of Music at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Interim and then Assistant Artistic Director for the Cumberland Choral Arts, and Collaborative Pianist at Methodist University in Fayetteville, NC. Before Fayetteville, Ryan resided in Florida where he served as the Artistic Director and Conductor for the Marion Civic Chorale, Director of Music at Countryside Presbyterian Church.  He also served as Chorusmaster for the Ocala Symphony Orchestra and worked as a vocal coach at Stetson University for the voice studios and the Opera program.

In 2010, Ryan made his Carnegie Hall debut, collaborated on recitals with faculty from Julliard, and was the pianist for the opening ceremonies of the World Equestrian Games. In 2011, he made his international debut, concertizing in Italy as part of the Orfeo Music Festival. Ryan has also worked and concertized with a wide variety of musicians, including Audra McDonald, Marvin Hamlisch, Arlo Guthrie, and Wynonna Judd. In 2023, Ryan returned to Carnegie Hall to premiere the “Twilight Mass,” by Ola Gjelio, and has also premiered works by Eric Whitacre and John Tichelli.

Dr. Valerie Bullock,
Past Artistic Director &
Conductor Emeritus,
2006-2020

Dr. Valerie Bullock is Professor Emeritus at Charleston Southern University, having retired June 30, 2016. At CSU she was Chair of the Horton School of Music, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities, where she conducted the University Concert Singers and Bel Canto as well as coordinating choral music education. She received her Doctorate in Choral Music education from Florida State University and Master’s and Bachelor degrees from the University of South Carolina.

In addition to conducting the Singers of Summerville, she also served as the full-time Director of Music Ministries at Bethany United Methodist Church in Summerville from September 2016 until her retirement in September 2020. Dr. Bullock conducted the Bethany Chancel Choir, Chamber Singers, Men’s Ensemble, and Women’s Ensemble as well as overseeing the entire music program.

Dr. Bullock remains active as a consultant and adjudicator in the SC American Choral Directors Association and in 2022 was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award.

David A. Richardson,
Past Artistic Director
& Conductor,
2020 - 2023

David A. Richardson is a respected choral conductor, educator, singer, and keyboardist in the Charleston Tri-County area. The 2023-2024 school year will mark Mr. Richardson’s fifteenth year in Dorchester School District Two as Director of Choral Activities at Summerville High School. He taught in the Berkeley County School District as a band director prior to his tenure in DD2. Before becoming Director of Choral Activities at Summerville High School, he was director of Choral Activities at Rollings Middle School of the Arts and Fort Dorchester High School. His choirs at both Rollings and Fort Dorchester earned consistent superior ratings at festivals and adjudicated events and festivals. Mr. Richardson’s passion for choral music education reaches beyond the public school classroom as Adjunct Professor of Music Education at the College of Charleston, where he teaches courses in Elementary Music Methods, Secondary Music Methods, and Choral Literature.

Paul H. Fletcher,
Founding Director,
and conductor
2003 - 2006

Paul H. Fletcher founded and then directed the Singers of Summerville for three years. He currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia where he is Director of Music Ministries at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church.

While in the Summerville area, Paul was a vocal Artist in Residence at Charleston Southern University (CSU) where, in addition to maintaining an active voice studio, he taught a course in music appreciation and directed the university’s men’s chorus, the Singing Buccaneers.

Prior to coming to CSU, he served seven years as the Director of Music Ministries at Bethany United Methodist Church in Summerville, where he directed and oversaw a music program of twelve ensembles. In addition to South Carolina, he has served in churches and colleges in Alabama, Texas, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.